ARTIST’S BIO

I paint mostly in oils, love sculpting, and meet deadly deadlines as illustrator.

My trademark is variety.

I have a BA degree in languages and a commercial art diploma and took classes in painting (watercolours and acrylics) and commercial art, but invaluable constructive feedback from fellow-artists, copying of the works of the Old Masters, lots of portrait work, constant experimenting, and teaching art as a school subject constitute the bigger part of my growth and learning as an artist.

I taught painting, sculpture and graphic design for five years up to matric level at the Lientjie Blok Art Centre at Vredenburg on the West Coast (South Africa).

I paint subjects ranging from realistic landscapes, still lives, seascapes and portraits to dreamscapes and imaginary scenes. Portraits are done in oils, pastels, pencil or charcoal, from life or from photographs; wildlife mostly from photographs in conjunction with fellow-artist and photographer Jackie During.

I also do commissioned copies of paintings of the Old Masters, such as Gustav Klimt, Thomas Gainsborough and John William Waterhouse.

Some paintings are done from reference material, others just happen. The latter are never consciously conceived. Some works of art just announce themselves; they have a life of their own and even choose their own frames. This process makes art an adventure for me.

EDUCATION

BA degree (languages), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (1981)

Commercial Art Diploma, INTEC College, Cape Town (1995)

FIELDS OF EXPERIENCE

ART: Painting, drawing, sculpting, book illustration, reproduction of the Old Masters, cartooning, teaching.